1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a lamination method for thermocompression bonding of a transparent film on a surface of an ID card on which such as a photograph of a person and personal data are printed. More specifically, the present invention concerns a wasteless type lamination method for laminating the transparent film on the surface of a contact type IC card in which an IC tip is contained and on the surface of which a terminal connected to the IC tip is exposed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, ID cards of various type are being widely used. In order to protect an ID card from tampering or to improve the life of the ID card, a transparent film of about 30 microns in thickness is laminated by a thermocompression bonding on a surface of the ID card on which information data are printed. Lamination systems such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,461 an d U.S. Pat. No. 5,783,024 are known as systems suitable for such lamination.
In the lamination system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,461, a transparent film pre-cut in a predetermined shape (a patch) is mounted on a carrier (a base sheet). The carrier is provided with sensor marks (index markings) for detecting the position of the pre-cut patch on the carrier. The lamination system detects the sensor mark prior to the lamination to detect the position of the pre-cut patch, then tear s the patch from the carrier and laminates the patch on the surface of the printed ID card by thermocompression bonding.
To apply this lamination system to lamination of a contact type IC card, a small window of which size is slightly larger than a size of a terminal of the IC card is provided at a predetermined place of the patch to avoid the lamination on the terminal, and lamination is practiced as explained above. In some case, a larger portion extending from a leading edge of a laminate film to an area of the terminal is removed from the laminate film, since it is difficult in the lamination to leave only the portion of the laminate film corresponding to the small window on the carrier.
In this case, there is a problem that a printed portion between the leading edge and the terminal is exposed, and accordingly, the quality of the exposed printed portion is damaged with the use of the contact type IC card.
Further, this lamination system is undesirable in view of the operation cost and the protection of environment, since the carrier is thrown away as waste material.
The latter problem was solved in a lamination system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,783,024 and the system is being practically used. In this lamination system, a leading edge of a continuous transparent laminate film is drawn out from a supply roll, then transferred along a supply path, then cut in a predetermined length, then laid on a printed ID card transferred along another supply path at the convergence zone of the two supply paths, and then laminated on the surface of the ID card by thermocompression bonding using a heat roller provided at the downstream. This lamination system, called wasteless type lamination system, is advantageous since the laminate film is used after being cut in a necessary length, and accordingly, no waste carrier such as in the lamination system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,461 is left.
However, in such wasteless type lamination system as represented by U.S. Pat. No. 5,783,024, means for cutting the laminate film in a predetermined length while maintaining positional relationship between the leading edge of the laminate film and the small window each provided along the transfer direction with a predetermined interval is not provided. Accordingly, the lamination system can not be used for laminating contact type IC cards. Such problem prevents tamper-resistant and long life contact type IC cards from spreading.
It is an object of the present invention to solve the above problem in the prior art and to provide a lamination method that can be applied for lamination of contact type IC cards, and that is excellent in operationability.
A lamination method according to the present invention to achieve the object comprises providing a laminate film with a heated adhesive layer where the laminate film has small windows and is drawn out from a supply roll. The laminate film is transferred along a film transfer path. A film detection sensor is also provided along the film transfer path to detect the laminate film. The laminate film is cut into a Predetermined length after being detected by the film detection sensor. The cut laminate film is transferred along the film transfer path. A card having a terminal on a surface connected to an IC tip contained in said card is transferred along a card transfer path that converges with the film transfer path at a point of convergence. The terminal on the surface of the card is positioned with the small window of the laminate film. The cut laminate film is bonded with the card by thermocompression bonding at the point of convergence.
Further to achieve the above object, the small window is detected by the film detection sensor, based on the result of which the laminate film is controlled to be transferred to make a leading edge of the laminate film and the small window into the predetermined positional relation, and while cutting the laminate film successively by the cutting means, lamination is made successively.
Further to achieve the above object, a process when the small window is detected by the film detection sensor, based on which the laminate film is controlled to be transferred to make the leading edge of the laminate film and the small window into the predetermined positional relation, then the laminate film is cut, and another process when the small window is not detected by the film detection sensor, the laminate film is cut into the predetermined length indepedently of the predetermined positional relation, are shifted automatically.
In the lamination method as above, it is possible to laminate the cut laminate film from which only the portion in close vicinity to the terminal portion of the printed IC card is removed on the printed IC card. Accordingly, it is possible to realize the lamination method by which the quality of the printed data around the terminal of the IC card can be maintained in a long time, and by which the tamper-resistance and the life of contact type IC card can be improved without yielding waste materials.
Further, since the cut laminate film with or without the small window can be recognized automatically, it is possible to automatically change the lamination system for a contact type IC card into for ordinary ID card, or vice versa, without a manual operation by an operator and accordingly, the operationability is raised.